SBA Hot Topic Tuesday — SBA 7(a) Prepays Fall Back Below 8%

In February, prepays fell by 25%, going below CPR 8% for the first time this year.

Double-digit decreases in both defaults (CDR) and voluntary prepayments (CRR) led to the decrease.

Specifically, defaults fell by 21% while voluntary prepayments moved down by 25% versus January results.

For the record, defaults have remained below CDR 2% for 42 months in a row.

Turning to the details, overall prepayments fell by 24.54% to 7.23% from 9.58%, previously. In comparing YOY prepayment speeds for 2017 versus 2016, this year is running 15% (8.40% vs. 7.32%) above last year after two months.

As for the largest sector of the market, 20+ years to maturity, prepayment speeds fell by 31% to 7.02% from 10.18% previously.